July 08, 2022

The Center of Denial


The Center of Denial
It wasn't me! World Economic Forum

Russian president Vladimir Putin has rejected news reports that Russia directly shelled a shopping center in Kremenchug on June 27. The attack killed 18, and, as of June 29, 21 people are still missing.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the Russian army did not fire on the shopping center, but instead on an ammunition hangar located nearby. Because of the nearby attack, the center caught fire, and that is when the chaos ensued. The Ministry also claims that the center was not open at the time of the fire.

On the Mayak radio station, Putin released his own statement, claiming that technology is so advanced that the missile strikes can hit precise targets and that such a mistake could not have occurred. 

The statements of the Russian Defense Ministry and Putin help us to understand how they are justifying Russia's criminal actions in their own minds, but far too many accounts have shown their statements to be blatantly false

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Some of our Books

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Faith & Humor
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A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
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Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Moscow and Muscovites
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Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Little Golden Calf
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Little Golden Calf

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